As winter causes each day to become colder than the last it is natural for us to turn our thoughts toward things such as heating our homes. As we think about heating our dwellings, the thought of an increase in expenses also naturally comes to mind. It costs money to heat a home and sometimes that can be a much larger expense than we would like. For this reason taking time to weatherize your house is not a bad idea. Not only is weatherization a good idea to cut down heating costs, but the following steps will also help cut down on the costs of keeping your home cool in warm weather as well.
10. Test your Thermostat
When it comes to climate control there is probably no device that is as important to this job as your thermostat. A thermostat that is only a couple of degrees off can actually cost you a lot of money and one that is off by several degrees can cost you a small fortune. For this reason its important to test your thermostat at least once during the onset of winter and once during the onset of summer. An easy way to do this is to get a thermometer set up next to or near the thermostat itself and see if the two read the same. If the thermostat seems to be off then you should call a repair person as quickly as possible.
9. Clean the Air Ducts
Most homes are heated and cooled by some form of central air unit. This unit creates hot or cold air and then delivers it to the rest of the house by blowing it through a series of air ducts. As this air travels along the duct it can be slowed down by debris along the airs path and this causes the fans to work harder to get the air through the duct. The problem with cleaning air ducts is that it can require special tools and sometimes you need to call a professional so this is something that only really needs to be done once a year or so.
8. Dress for the Weather
Dressing for the weather is one of those common sense ideas that no one ever seems to take seriously because they really don’t understand the impact it has. How many times have you or someone you know felt like it was a little cold inside and turned up the heat? Now how often have you or someone you known been dressed in shorts and a t-shirt when you noticed it was cold and so turned up the eat? While it may seem kind of funny, people do this all the time. If the temperature seems a bit low the first thing you should do is put on warmer clothes before turning up the heat.
7. Keep Other People Away from the Thermostat
Whether it is children, family or visitors, other people love to change the thermostat without bothering to let anyone know about it and this can cost you money. The best way to handle making sure the thermostat isn’t fiddled with is buying a new one with a coded panel, but that can cost a bit of money. The next best step is to simply check it when there are other people in the home.
6. Uncover all your air ducts
Air ducts never seem to be put in a good place. When air ducts are placed in the floor it seems to be right where you want to put your couch. When air ducts are in the wall it seems that’s right where you want to place your entertainment center. The problem this creates is that a covered air duct is not near as efficient as one that isn’t and this can force the heater or air conditioning unit to try to put out more hot or cold air. As you begin taking weatherization steps take some time and make sure that every air duct is uncovered.
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